We're Updating our Kitchen!

After days of shopping, we made our first purchase to start our kitchen remodel. We bought our "Burnt Mocha" bamboo floors. They are beautiful! We've got a lot of work to do. We'll be painting, doing the floors, tearing out the old countertop and sink, putting in a new sink and countertop, and adding some additional cabinets (with a butcher block top - we're very excited about getting more counter space). Yes, we're keeping our stove...don't be silly.

Happy Holidays!

We hope that whatever holiday you and your families celebrate at this time of year are happy, healthy and full of laughter and love. We didn't get around to sending out holiday cards this year, maybe we'll send New Year cards!

We started our morning early with a little egg nog french toast, which might be my new favorite breakfast. It was excellent, if I do say so myself. Pretty darn simple too. Mix up 1/4 gallon of eggnog with an egg, cinnamon and nutmeg (for 8 slices of bread). Drench your bread with it, and put it in a nice hot frying pan. Let it get nice and brown, then drizzle it with whipped eggnog and some powdered sugar.
We don't really "do" gifts at our house. Mostly because there is really nothing we need, and that is perhaps the greatest gift of all. Somehow though, a gift or two always seems to sneak up under the tree. My Pop loves his Bah Humbug Certified Scrooge t-shirt. When I saw the Golden Humbugs at Harrod's in London, I knew I couldn't pass them up. Chico got a Bengals jersey, he really likes it.
Dan and I made our traditional Christmas dinner, Hawaiian Steak (inspired by the one at Houston's). He's such a great griller, dinner was fantastic. Seriously, fantastic. For dessert, an apple crumble that was so good that while reaching for seconds, Dan spilled his glass of red wine on the rug under the dining room table. So we ended the meal with the shop vac running, and we saved the rug.

Here was our Christmas wine, we'd definitely recommend it. At $12-15/bottle, it's a deal. You can get it here if you want to give it a try. http://www.mariposawine.com/yosemite-view/wines/ You know me and wine labels. You can see why I picked this one.

A Day of Baking

I spent Sunday baking treats for our friends and co-workers. I really enjoy baking, and should do it more often. Maybe once we get our kitchen updated, I will be more motivated to spend time in there.

Timber!

Whenever Mom & Pop are here visiting, we always get so much done on the house.

This trip, one of the big things we wanted to get done was to take out the big tree in the front yard. Pop and Dan worked on it today, and Jared came over to help. It's going to look great when it's all done.

Here are the manual laborers.

Here they are after the first tree came down.

Christmas Came a Little Early

We've been eyeing these kayaks for a year or so. We finally found a good deal on the exact models we wanted (both made by Ocean Kayak), so we went up to Santa Barbara and picked them up yesterday. We can't wait to use them!

A Trip To Morgan Hill

We spent this weekend with Jen & Ben. Jen is my oldest friend, since we were 3. We got up there on Friday night, it's a 6 hour drive. On Saturday we all went to Super Taqueria for lunch, it's always the first restaurant stop whenever I go back to Morgan Hill. Jen and I did some shopping while Ben and Dan watched Alabama lose in the SEC Championship. That evening, we went to downtown Morgan Hill to watch the Christmas parade and have dinner at Papi's on the Wharf. Sunday was a relaxing day, until it was time for dance class. Jen and I started dancing at Lana's Dance Studio when we were 3, and our first recital was in 1979. Next summer, on June 28, Lana is having her 30th anniversary recital. There's a big "retired dancer" number, and so yesterday was an "old people's" dance class to get us ready for it. We drove down to the studio, like we had done thousands of times before and went to class. It was so much fun to see some of the girls we used to dance with, I think we all had a great time. I'm looking forward to future classes, and to getting back in shape for the big show!

Here are some snapshots from "home". This first one is the Granada theater. It was the movie theater when I was a kid, until the big one was built sometime in the late 80's.

This is just one of the fields out in San Martin. It's kind of amazing to still see so much open land. A lot of it has already been developed, so it's always nice to see some wide open space.

This was basically what it looked like across the street from our old house. Lots of walnut trees, the beautiful hills, barns, chickens, etc. Not quite what people think of when they think about California. There are still tractors that drive down the roads, and lots of horses and livestock on just about every piece of land.

A Hike With Friends

Yesterday we went to Silverwood Lake, in the Angeles National Forsest to meet up with our neighbors who were camping there this weekend. The weather was great, and the hike was a lot of fun. It's hard to believe that it's so beautiful and quiet just an hour and a half outside of LA. We're going to try to plan a big neighborhood trip up there at the end of January. Hopefully everyone can make it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice low-key Thanksgiving here at home. We had roasted chicken, roasted asparagus and mashed cinnamon sweet potatoes. Not exactly a traditional Thanksgiving, but non-traditional is more our style. We did start off with my family's traditional artichoke dip and we finished it off with my no-bake pumpkin pie. This pumpkin pie recipe is super easy, it's low fat, and it tastes excellent, so give it a try.

Cathi's Faux Pumpkin Pie

Here's what you need...
1 small can of pumpkin pie filling
1 packet of instant vanilla pudding
1 tub of low fat whipped cream
2 tablespoons of honey
cinnamon & nutmeg (to taste)

Here's what you do...
Just mix all of the ingredients above in a bowl, then pour it into a pre-made graham cracker crust. That's it! Put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, then it's ready to go. It should look something like this. Enjoy!

We Went to Disneyland

One of Cathi's employees has a son who works for Disney, and he's able to get people into the park for free. So we decided to go to Disneyland and California Adventure today. Thankfully it was free, because 1-day park hopper tickets (to see both parks) are up to $94 per person! The park was packed, and as you can see from the pictures, it's time for Christmas at Disneyland.

Here we are by the big tree at California Adventure.

And here's Cinderella's Castle all lit up for the holidays.

The lines to take pictures with the real Mickey Mouse were a mile long, so we settled for this one, with presents on the "C" spelling California in front of the park.

Chico's New Look

It was time for Chic to get a haircut, he was looking quite lion-like. He seems to really like his new style, he's got a little more pep in his step. It could be because he lost about 2 pounds of hair.

Friday Wine Bar Night

We rode our bikes down to the wine bar with the neighbors last night. Dan got to try out his new bike headlight, and it worked great, it's really bright. When we first started going to PWM over a year ago, there were some Friday nights that ours was the only group in the place. Last night, it was packed, and they had live music. Our little local spot is apparently on the map now.

The guys usually go for the local brews from Dale Brothers, right here in Upland. Last night Pomona Queen was on tap and earned the thumbs up from the group. As for the girls, we enjoyed the Blue Pirate Pinot Noir, and we highly recommend it. You can find it online (if your local wine store doesn't have it) for about $15-20 per bottle.

It Stinks!

We could smell the fires a little bit at the house this weekend, and could definitely see the smoke over toward Chino Hills. We don't know anyone who's been evacuated. Our friends and co-workers who live near the fires are out of harm's way, and their homes are not threatened.

These fires smell really bad, especially on the way to and from work. I got home today and Dan said I smelled weird, and I said, "like smoke?" I feel like I've been sitting next to a campfire all day. There were literally bits of ashes flying around outside, and there were even ashes on my desk when I got in this morning. It can't be good breathing this stuff. I may have to take my N-95 mask tomorrow.

Here's a picture I took out the car window this morning on the 57, just south of Brea Canyon.

Ohio Time

We're in Ohio this week! I have some meetings in Loveland for work, and Dan decided to work out of his office in Covington for month-end close. The timing was perfect as Dan's extended family held their annual Thanksgiving dinner tonight. We were glad we got to celebrate with them, since we won't be back for the holidays.

We spent a great evening with our friends Chris and Teryl last night. We all hung out and watched the Alabama game. Today, we met up with Tony & Lesetta so I could take some family pictures for them. We really enjoyed seeing both of these beautiful families and spending time with them. Our friends are definitely something we miss about Cincinnati.

This picture of Dan and I is at Sharon Woods (where we did the pictures for Tony & Lesetta). The leaves are still beautiful, and starting to fall here. That's something else we miss! On the flip side, it was 43 degrees. It was 80 when we left LA, warm is good!

An Historic Day

Well, today is an historic day for America. We are still waiting on some results for issues on the California ballot, namely the right to gay marriage (which looks like it will be defeated unfortunately).

I guess no matter how you look at it, and as much as I hate to admit it sometimes, it's a great and interesting time to be an American. We have elected the first minority president! Dan and I are curious to see how things will look over the next four years, and are looking forward to having GW out of here in another couple of months.

And yes, California still uses paper ballots!

Neighborhood Halloween Party

If you didn't already know, we love our neighborhood and our neighbors. We all got together at Jared's house for a little Halloween party. Everyone was dressed up, and had a great time. We are really lucky to live by these people, they are a good group!

Jared is kind of famous around these parts for his orange shirt and overalls, so we all decided to dress as Jared. It was a pretty easy costume, thanks to Jesse for the overalls and the Goodwill for the orange shirts.

Natasha as Sarah Palin was hilarious. She kind of resembles Tina Fey, so you can see how it worked out. The jumping Jareds took a seat and got bounced around by the former Miss Alaska/VP wannabe.

Visitors from Ohio

Last weekend, some of Dan's friends came in for a visit. The two Jeffs (from Cincinnati) and Dave (originally from Cincinnati but now in Denver) flew in on Thursday night. They went to Santa Anita Racetrack on Friday, then we walked to downtown Upland to meet up with some of the neighbors for drinks. Saturday, they went to the USC game and watched USC beat ASU while I was in Malibu at the beach. Then we did the standard tourist drive: Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood. Sunday they went to the Dodger game, the one game in the series that they won (as of 7:50 tonight, the Dodgers are down 5-1 in what could be the last game of the series). They all flew out on Monday. It was a really nice visit, and we hope everyone can get out here to see us.

Here's Jeff, Dave, Dan and Jeff on the pier at Santa Monica. It was a very windy day at the beach!

Here's the ferris wheel on the pier, this picture is just so Southern California to me.

For Rent...Again

It looks like one of our renters will be moving out on 10/31, so we've got an apartment coming open. If you know anyone who needs a place in Cincinnati, please let us know. The house is on Werk between Queen City and Boudinot. The apartment is a 2 bedroom and 1 bath, on the first floor for $525 per month.

Better yet, if you know anyone who wants to buy a rental property, have them get in contact with us. It's been a good little rental, but we could be persuaded to let it go, as it's just too much work to manage from here. We get $525 for each of the 2 apartments, and we pay the water bill quarterly (about $100). It has a positive cash flow, so it could be a great opportunity for someone in the area.

LA County Fair

We went to the LA County Fair with our neighbors on Thursday night. Did you know the LA County Fair is the country's largest? I didn't either, but it is. Here's Dan with Deneen, Mike, Garrett, Dave and Sam.

We're Back!

We arrived at LAX around 6:30 last night, and got home around 8:30. What a great trip. We really do love the UK, and can't wait to go back again. Chris and Melissa are planning on taking their citizenship test (to become dual citizens US/UK) in two years, and plan on being in London indefinitely. That's great news for us, and we will definitely be back to see them. Here are a few pictures from some of the highlights of the trip.

Here we are with the neighbors at the wedding. It was one of the most amazing weddings we've ever seen. Between the castle itself, wonderful friends, and a beautiful ceremony with an owl delivering the wedding rings, this is a wedding we will remember forever. We're so happy we were able to be part of Andrew and Ciara's day. This was one of those trips that made us realize (again) how truly charmed and lucky we are.

Being able to stay in a castle was really amazing. We were in the Edward I room, with a beautiful view of the countryside. All I can say is that it must have been VERY nice to have been royal and had castles to live in. I know they were probably pretty cold, and damp, but they really are fabulous. To think that this castle was built in the 13th century, and updated in the 15th century is unbelievable, by far the oldest place we've ever slept. The stairs were very creaky, and everything had a sort of settled in lean to it (the stairs, the floors, etc.). It was fabulous, and I would recommend it if you're over that way.

This is the chapel within the castle, where the ceremony was performed. It was small and intimate. The chairs are just like the ones we bought for our dining room table from a church that was moving when we were still in Ohio. Except these are for four and three, and ours are just for two.

This is Nimuae the owl (and the best man, Omar). After the wedding, before the reception, we were treated to a falconry demonstration on the green. It was really neat, the birds are so smart, and beautiful to watch.

London has the largest Indian population outside of India, as a result, there are wonderful plalces for Indian food. We ate at Little India in Chelsea/South Kensington, just down the street from Chris and Melissa's old flat. We actually went there twice while we were in London. The food and service are unbeatable. If you are ever in London, you MUST eat at this restaurant. Our favorites are the Chicken Vindaloo and the Butter Chicken, as well as the Lamb Tikka and their specialty dish SLM (it's full name is hard to pronounce, and there's no way I can spell it). Their Spicy Lime Pickle and Mango Chutney appetizers are so good, I was online looking for recipies this morning.
Sightseeing in London and Scotland was a lot of fun, here we are in front of the London Eye, on the bridge in front of Parliament/Big Ben.
Here we are on the Tower Bridge, we had wonderful weather during our days in London. Apparently we brought the California sunshine with us. Londoners were out in their tank tops and flip flops enjoying it everywhere we went.

Here I am with my cousin Chris. He reminds me more and more of my dad each time I see him. I am so glad that we were able to spend time with him, and Melissa. It's nice that we can be close even though we're on different continents.

We couldn't go to London and not go to Borough market. We had lunch and did some shopping. I had the grilled cheese - I'm convinced it's world famous, if it's not, it should be. Dan had the Salt Beef sandwich. We picked up the mushroom pate and some olives for Melissa. We brought back some pate, and some tea from the market.

Edinburgh, Scotland

We arrived in Edinburgh yesterday and went to our hotel, the Marriott Dalmahoy Country Club. We settled in, and made our way downtown to Browns Bar & Brasserie for Andrew and Ciara's rehearsal dinner. We really enjoyed meeting their families, and seeing them again. They are getting very excited for their wedding on Wednesday. After dinner, we all went to Giribaldi's Mexican Cantina for dancing.

Today, the guys went golfing at King's Acre, and the girls went to the spa at Dalhousie Castle. It was a nice relaxing morning. After everyone got back to the castle, the four of us went to downtown Edinburgh. Dan and I walked the city, and Jesse and Jeanine went on a tour.


Dan and Jesse, blending like locals before golfing. A mix of shots from the guys' golf day. 1. Jesse's ball dug in the mud. 2. Omar's golf swing. 3. Andrew checking a Shetland pony's teeth on the course. 4. Corey's golf swing (nice wig). 5. Andrew at the 19th hole. 6. Jesse minding the trolleys. 7. Andrew reading the course guide (no, not Golfing for Dummies). 8. Dan's golf swing. 9. Andrew, Dan & Omar on the course.

Checking In From London

We left for LAX at 4:00 Friday, with plenty of time to park and grab a bite before we boarded the plane for Hethrow. We arrived in London yesterday at about 3:00, and spent the day with Chris and Melissa. We stayed around Parson's Green and went to a couple of local pubs. Today, Jeanine and I got up and went for a nice walk by the Thames. We left the flat around 9:30 and went to Westminster Abbey, Pariament and Big Ben. We went to Covent Garden for lunch to meet Jesse's cousin Paul, his wife Allie and their two year old, Will. We spent time with them, and met up with Chris and Melissa at Spidalfield Market. Jesse's cousins left to take the train back to Ipswich and we went to Kensington to have dinner at Little India, a wonderful Indian restaurant. We walked past Chris and Melissa's old flat and went to their old pub, the Queens Arms. We came back to their flat and are getting ready for our trip to Edinburgh tomorrow morning.

Here we are at LAX, just before we left. This was right after we saw Russell Brand (who was on our plane). I had no idea who he was, and now I do.

The view as we started our descent into London. This plane had a HUGE wingspan.
Dan took this picture of Me, Melissa, Chris, Jesse and Jeanine at Duke on the Green, a pub at Parson's Green. The burgers with fois gras were very tasty!